Barrel Aged Quad - recipe/yeast help

[dcp27]

I just unloaded my old ale from my rum barrel and slacked on having something new to put in there so I need to get something going soon. Let me know if you have any thoughts/suggestions on the recipe:

OG: 1.095ish
IBUs: 32ish

15lbs Pils
3lbs Munich
0.25lbs Special B
1lb D2 (@flameout)
1-2lbs homemade candi sugar (@flameout)

3oz goldings @90mins

yeast ????

mash @149F for 60mins, pitch @68f and let rise, after 2 weeks cold condition in barrel for 3-4 weeks

now my questions:

1) I already have 1lb of D2, but plan to make the rest of the candi sugar. How much should I make? I'm leaning towards doing A from here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/candi-syrup-experiment-trying-clone-d2-220882/

2) which yeast would you use? I'm torn between WLP500, WLP530, and Wyeast 1762, but open to other suggestions as well. I'm also considering using more than one.

3) Any good ideas on what to partigyle this into for a half batch? I'm open to pretty much any style.

Thanks for the help

 

[dirty_martini]

1lb of d2 is plenty of candi syrup. After that you would be just fine using table sugar. the d2 is 160L. You will get plenty of flavor and color from that. Most people overdo the candi sugar and it ends up too sweet. Along those lines, I would also omit the special b, unless you want a lot of raisin flavor. With just 1lb of d2, you will have enough dark fruit and rum notes, you don't need any crystal type malts.

As for yeast, I prefer wlp abbey ale for these types based on your choices. However, an under utilized yeast because it's named all wrong is wyeast Belgian wheat. It's the de dolle yeast so if you've ever had stille nacht, it can handle the big beers. I used it on my quad and I got a lot of plum, date, and dark rum flavors.

 

[SickTransitMundus]

I like Wyeast 3787 for my quads. You could also consider adding some brettanomyces in the barrel - either from Orval dregs or a wyeast pack.

I also recommend dropping the mash temp by 2-3 degrees. 151 is pretty high for a Belgian; you've got to go lower to get a good "deceptively strong" quality to the beer.

 

[SickTransitMundus]

Now that I think on it, a word of warning: if you use brett in a wooden barrel you will never be able to sanitize it away. Barrel aging and brett go well together, but you'll get varying degrees of brett-ishness in future batches.

 

[dcp27]

Thanks for the tips. I don't want to use any brett yet. Once the barrel starts becoming neutral I plan on making it a brett/sour barrel, but I got at least a few more batches til then.

I like the 530/3787 yeast (westmalle), but its what I usually use in my belgians so I'm leaning against using it, at least by itself. Right now I'm thinking 500 (chimay), but I'm still undecided.

I ended up getting my hands on some chambly yeast cake (3864), so I'm thinking of partigyling this into something of a half-sized la fin du monde, unless a better idea comes along.

anyone else have any ideas/comments/suggestions?

 

[Egghead]

You might want to try Wyeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes. A fellow homebrewer I know made a fantastic tripel with that yeast.